Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan bats for GST on petroleum products

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The Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday batted for the inclusion of all petroleum products under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

At present, crude oil, natural gas, ATF, diesel and petrol are all out of the GST framework, which has replaced a slew of federal and state levies.

Pradhan said both the federal and the state governments have to reach a consensus to bring petro products under the GST.

The oil minister's statement came at a time when the government is facing criticism over the steep rise in fuel prices.

Fuel prices were revised across four metros - New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai - on Tuesday as part of the daily revision exercise.

Following the hike, the petrol prices range between rupees 74 to rupees 80 while diesel prices range between rupees 61 to rupees 64.

Reportedly, the recent hike comes when the price of international crude oil has reached $52.73 per barrel. The government had steadily increased excise duty on petrol and diesel when the global crude prices had dropped below $30 a barrel.